The Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York was a convening spot for all things Afrobeats on August 19 when thousands of African fans came together, for the latest iteration of One Africa Music Fest, put on by Paul Okoye and his tireless team.

10-time Grammy Award winner, multi-platinum selling American artist John Legend will be returning to South Africa with his highly anticipated Darkness and Light Global tour. Legend’s latest album Darkness and Light has been a global smash hit with top 10 singles “Love Me Now” and “Penthouse Floor” featuring Chance the Rapper.

The 3rd edition of the Nyege Nyege Festival is one not to miss this year with several acts lined up. The festival will offer the best contemporary African music and a unique fusion of international and African sounds You cannot be anywhere else but at the source of the Nile River in Jinja, Uganda between 1 and 3 September.

Stella Mwangi continues to outdo herself and establishing herself firmly as an African musician par excellence. Set it Off her latest offering has been picked as theatrical music score and trailer soundtrack on Hollywood film: A Bad Moms Christmas, which is set to premier in the USA on the 3rd November, 2017.

South Africa hosted Zafiko Music Festival, which took place on Durban's Blue Lagoon beach from May 26-28 bringing artists from all over the world live on stage. Today we bring you some of the pictures taken by This is Africa during the festival.

Over the centuries, wherever Africans went, their music travelled with them, leaving an indelible mark on the cultures and peoples they interacted with. From the 1950s onwards, African music has had a particular influence on jazz, hip-hop and R&B in the United States.

13 years ago, the African music industry was left poorer by the passing on of Brenda Nozolla Fassie, popularly known to her fans as "MaBrrr". Born in Langa township near Capetown in 1964, Fassie would have been 53 this year. We celebrate the life of the doyenne of South African music. Her voice lives with us every day.Today we remember the music icon by sharing our five best songs.

Habib Koité is the very definition of a griot—a storyteller and musician. He embodies African poetry and spiritualism. Described by Rolling Stone as "Mali's biggest pop star;" Koité justified why he’s regarded as one of Africa's most popular and acclaimed musicians with a stellar closing performance at the Harare International Festival of the Arts.

Two Nigerian entrepreneurs are launching a range of sun protection creams specifically targeted at black people. Sisters Chinelo Chidozie and Ndidi Obidoa have created a community-driven beauty line, called Bolden made with Shea nuts produced from Burkina Faso. Kudos to the inspirational entrepreneurs on the remarkable initiative.

South Africa's state of the nation address was a total mess, but beyond the chaos President Jacob Zuma spoke about the optimism about economic growth, foreign investment and radical socio-economic transformation. There were other interesting highlights, not least the colourful sartorial gorgeousness, now an annual fixture of the SONA.

It's not a secret that women want healthy hair and skin. But for many, this usually means subjecting them to products full of chemicals. Julie Bela Wamona takes a look at one Kenyan entrepreneur who is encouraging women to ditch harsh hair and skin products by providing natural alternatives.

What is African identity? And what does it mean for modern women today? Content producer and photographer Nombuso Kosazana posed this question to several women from Johannesburg, South Africa and this is what they had to say.

The South African film Inxeba is now streaming on Netflix a remarkable feat. Inxeba is the first and only South African film to be watched on Netflix. The controversial film which tells the story of initiation, circumcision, masculinity and manhood has set tongues wagging for its depiction of the sacred Xhosa initiation rite.

Art X Lagos is one of West Africa’s premier art fairs, exposing a wide range of people to original artworks. But despite its accomplishments, the fair has one fatal flaw: the very Nigerian tendency to prioritise the VIP guests, to the frustration of ‘regular’ attendees, writes Alithnayn Abdulkareem

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts this week announced the winners for the annual British Academy Children’s Awards. Magic Light Pictures’ animated films of Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes won in the animation category.

Good Morning Africa from the National Museum of Anthropology (Museu Nacional de Antropologia) in Luanda, Angola. Anyone looking for a place to find an array of traditional masks, artefacts and sculptures, this is the place to be.

The Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York was a convening spot for all things Afrobeats on August 19 when thousands of African fans came together, for the latest iteration of One Africa Music Fest, put on by Paul Okoye and his tireless team.

Good morning Africa and Happy New Year. We take you to our first destination of this year in Nigeria. In the old city of Kaduna lies a castle that reminds you of King's Landing, Kajuru Castle. This beautiful edifice is the perfect getaway destination.

Thinking about buying a Christmas tree or going into the woods to cut trees? Think again, you might want to do things a bit different this year by using plastic bottles. School children in Mozambique built a Christmas tree using 7, 000 plastic bottles.

Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the ninth largest lake in the world and the third largest and second deepest lake in Africa.

Zakouma National Park in Chad is home to some of the continent's endangered animals. Situated just south of the Sahara Desert and above the fertile rainforest regions, Zakouma has become a safe haven for Central and West African wildlife.

Greetings Africa from the Gedi Ruins, one of Kenya’s oldest Swahili Villages situated at the coast, East of the country. It is currently a National Museum to protect its national, archeological and cultural value.

Kenya sent its first female athlete to the Winter Olympics games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The presence of African athletes at this year's Winter Olympics has been a source of celebration. Participants include Nigeria’s bobsleigh team, and skeleton athlete Akwasi Frimpong from Ghana. We wish the athletes the best.

43 years ago, "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century" took place in Kinshasa, then Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo). The spectacle brought to Africa the world's two greatest pugilists and immortalised the legend of Muhammad Ali. On the day Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman to regain his world heavyweight title.

Nigeria is a big footballing nation. After decades of mismanagement, its football governing body finally took a ‘big business’ approach to reforming the country’s premier league. This more conventional management and corporate structure has been a big determinant of the league’s recent success, says Promise Okwuchukwu.

Greetings from London where a record 40,000 runners took part in this year’s London Marathon and our Kenyan counterparts gave an impressive performance winning both the women's and men's race. The race was an African affair in terms of winning with Kenyans and Ethiopians taking the top spots. We say a hearty congratulations to our fellow brothers and sisters from the continent.

Few footballers in history have had the rare privilege of playing for two different national teams. Wilfried Zaha is one of the rare cases after he made the move from donning the colours of England’s Three Lions to Ivory Coast’s Elephants.

England, France and Belgium have a much longer history of selecting black footballers in their national teams due to a longer historical association with people of African ancestry. But with increased rate of immigration and transnational marriage, the world has become a global village over the years. Because of that, a lot more European countries now have players of colour in their national teams. Any interesting case is Vienna-born David Alaba, a rare breed of a national player for a country with a problem with racism.

Two Nigerian entrepreneurs are launching a range of sun protection creams specifically targeted at black people. Sisters Chinelo Chidozie and Ndidi Obidoa have created a community-driven beauty line, called Bolden made with Shea nuts produced from Burkina Faso. Kudos to the inspirational entrepreneurs on the remarkable initiative.

#GoodMorningAfrica as we congratulate the world’s biggest woman from Egypt, Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty who has halved her weight of 500kg after surgery in India. Eman has been suffering from a rare genetic disorder that tells her body she is always hungry. She was unable to leave her home for 25 years. We wish her a speedy recovery.

Greetings as we visit the Fulani people (also called Peul or Fulbe) from West Africa, the largest nomadic group in the world. The ethnic group is diverse, with people who were conquered and became a part of the Fulani through the spread of Islam. The Fulani people are scattered from Lake Chad in the east to the Atlantic coast. You will find them mainly in Nigeria, Mali, Guinea, Cameroon, Senegal, and Niger. Their language, Fula, belongs to the Niger-Congo language family.

Cultural dances are an integral part of African societies. Across the continent, traditional dance occurs collectively, expressing the life of the community more than that of individuals or couples. Take a look at some of the dances.

Natasha Thahane is intelligent, beautiful and multi-talented. Known for her role as Enhle on the SABC1 youth drama television series Skeem Saam, Natasha has won the hearts of many across the continent as the sweet and unassuming Amogelang in Mzanzi Magic’s The Queen.

It's not a secret that women want healthy hair and skin. But for many, this usually means subjecting them to products full of chemicals. Julie Bela Wamona takes a look at one Kenyan entrepreneur who is encouraging women to ditch harsh hair and skin products by providing natural alternatives.

What is African identity? And what does it mean for modern women today? Content producer and photographer Nombuso Kosazana posed this question to several women from Johannesburg, South Africa and this is what they had to say.

Good Morning Africa, today we wake up to the beautiful news of Funke Akindele's role in the new Avengers: Infinity War. Funke is one of Nollywood's top actresses. The news of her role as one of the Dora Milaje has left social media buzzing with excitement.

Our WCW this week is Victoria Byoma, a Ugandan lawyer with a passion for arts and craft. She was recently recognised for her contribution to changing the lives of women in Uganda thanks to her business of making products from banana fibre.

Dr. Jean Bosco Kazirukanyo is the founder and managing director of the Advanced Cement Training and Projects (ATCP) Institute. He invented a new type of cement that effectively contains and recycles ecologically harmful oil spills.

Eleni Gabre-Madhin, the CEO of Eleni LLC has been instrumental in the establishment of the Commodity Exchange in Ethiopia. The success of the exchange inspired her to set up a new model of commodity exchange suitable for countries in in the developing world, and in other African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique and Cameroon.

Eating human flesh is considered odious and repugnant, seen as gross, inhumane and tantamount to ‘witchcraft’ across the world and more so in Africa. This is why the recent revelations by an estimated hundreds of South Africans that they have devoured human meat are making headlines and causing panic and raising questions.

A clinical research has revealed that men who keep mobile phones in their trouser pockets risk their sperm being “cooked”. Scientists have previously raised concern over the use of electronic gadgets such a laptops by men and sought to explore the effects of electronic devices on fertility.

Whenever U.S. hip hop superstar, Kanye West takes to social media, his comments certainly create a frenzy, usually for the wrong reasons. West’s latest bizarre tweets asking for help from billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and other Silicon Valley billionaires to fund his ideas instead of building schools in Africa have left many dumbfounded.

In a grisly domestic violence incident which occurred over Valentine’s weekend, a 24 year-old Kenyan man, Duncan Moseti, cut his wife’s breasts before severing his own genitals. Moseti accused his wife Margaret Achieng of cheating on him with his brother.

In a move to bolster his image and his music brand, Jamaican dancehall artist Lanmine has decided to adorn his face with 40 piercings. The decision has been met with mixed emotions by fans. Lanmine has been chastised by some fans but the artist says he continues to receive positive comments from fans who approve of his new look.

GuyFi, a ‘male stress relief booth’, created by a sex toy company, Hot Octopuss has set tongues wagging online. The GuyFi booth has been criticised by some people online as a “degrading” and “sexist” initiative while others have hailed it as progressive move.

Zimbabwe’s police spokesperson Charity Charamba has warned people to desist from the practice of “parading of coffins” in public places, following several cases of mourners displaying the coffin of the deceased. The practice is prevalent at the funerals of touts, sex workers and well-known criminals

The Lagos Carnival, also known as Fanti (mask) or Caretta is a colourful parade of plumes, pomp and pageantry with dances to crown it all. The carnival was recently celebrated in Lagos Island on May 13th as part of the events to mark the cities 50th Anniversary.

The city of Durban hosted the third Zakifo Festival. The festival, which is organized by Jerome Galabert, had in attendance various artists like Ray Phiri, Jojo Abbot, and Damian Marley among others. The two day festival was captured in pictures by Tseliso Monaheng.

How many times have you been told to always be mindful of your actions and words in the presence of the elderly? In many African communities, the #elderly are revered, respected and old age is seen as a blessing. Today is #WorldElderAbuseAwarenessDay, are we treating our elders with the respect they deserve? Or do we exploit them, emotionally, physically and economically?

The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) ran from 2 – 7 May 2017 after a break last year. This Is Africa captured features performances and wares by local and international artists in various spheres – music, theatre, film, digital, craft, dance and literature.

Today we commemorate the Global Day of Parents. Parents are the most important people in our lives from an early age until adulthood. The love, care and nurturing they give often determine the life we have. Sometimes we may be tempted to limit the role of parenting to the birthing process, however the bigger role is the nurturing, protecting and taking responsibility for another human being’s life. What message do you have for your parents today?

The 57th Venice Biennale, the international art exhibition that opens on 13 May 2017, will be hosting the first-ever Nigerian Pavilion. Though rich in artistic talent and productivity, Nigeria is only now making her long-overdue debut on art’s biggest global stage.

Zakifo Festival captured in pictures

By
Tseliso Monaheng on June 15, 2017 —
The city of Durban hosted the third Zakifo Festival. The festival, which is organized by Jerome Galabert, had in attendance various artists like Ray Phiri, Jojo Abbot, and Damian Marley among others. The two day festival was captured in pictures by Tseliso Monaheng.

Zakifo is the brainchild of festival director Jérôme Galabert, journalist and magazine publisher Andy Davis, and of Sipho Sithole, whose contributions to African music range from producing albums for Thandiswa Mazwai, to signing the hip hop group Skwatta Kamp. That was back before left Gallo Records to found his own Native Rhythm label, onto which he signed acts such as The Soil and Zuluboy.

Zakifo’s also the South African cousin of La Réunion’s Sakifo. The city of Durban hosted the festival for the third time running this past weekend. Baloji, Kommanda Obbs, Ray Phiri, Jojo Abbot and Damian Marley were among some of the artists on the bill.